Saul and the witch of Endor, 1 Sam. 28. Death of Saul, 1 Sam. 31. David's lament over Saul and Jonathan, 2 Sam. 1:19-27. The ark of the Lord brought to Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 6. The punitive visitation of the plague, 2 Sam. 24. CHAPTER VII FROM SOLOMON TO THE RESTORATION 1 and 2 Kings. Like I and 2 Samuel, the two books of Kings originally formed a single volume. They contain a sketch of the Hebrew monarchy from the accession of Solomon to the overthrow of the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. They extend over a period of 427 years; or, if we include the mention of Jehoiachin's elevation by Evil-Merodach, we must add about twenty-six years more. Hebrew history is thus brought down to about 562 B.C. The author of 1 and 2 Kings is not certainly known. By tradition the authorship has been assigned to Jeremiah or Ezra. But whoever the compiler may have been, he adopted the prevailing Hebrew or Deuteronomic view of history. Accordingly, he traced national well-being to loyalty to Jehovah, and national disaster to the worship of idols. The standpoint of the writer is clearly shown in the divine words addressed to Solomon: "If thou wilt walk before Me, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep My statutes and My judgments: then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever. if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye or your children, and will not keep My commandments, and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them." 1 11 Kings 9:4, 5. But Sources and Treatment. - The author wrote during the seventy years' captivity or later. Thus many of the events he narrates occurred centuries before his time. Like other writers, both sacred and profane, he made use of earlier works and contemporary documents, which he nearly always names. For additional facts about the reign of Solomon, he refers to the book of the Acts of Solomon. In treating of the rulers of the northern kingdom, he frequently mentions the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel as his authority; and in discussing the rulers of the southern kingdom, he refers fifteen times to the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. These chronicles were the official records, or works based on them, prepared by the royal recorder or historian. But the compiler makes only brief extracts from the larger works, and arranges them in an order or scheme to demonstrate his main contention - true now as then that righteousness exalts a nation, and iniquity debases it. Whenever a king "did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah," he was prosperous in his reign; and whenever he did evil, he met with disaster. It is remarkable that all the kings of Israel are pronounced evil; and of the kings of Judah only a few-Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah - command the approval of the pious historian.1 Threefold Division. The books of Kings naturally fall into a threefold division. The first eleven chapters are devoted to the reign of Solomon, and present to us his wisdom and power and final lapse into idolatry. There are 1 The writer's "aim is to apply to the past history of his race, from the time of Solomon and onward to his own day, the Deuteronomic standard, and to exemplify the view that prosperity is to be traced to a faithful regard for this standard, failure and catastrophe to its deliberate repudiation."-C. B. BARNEY in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible." not a few interesting details. His choice of "an understanding heart" rather than happiness or power, displays a royal soul. His decision in the case of the contending women has become famous. His building of the temple was a fine exhibition of wisdom and piety; and the splendor of his court and the extent of his commerce surrounded him with a magnificence which no other Hebrew monarch ever enjoyed. The second part, extending from the twelfth chapter of I Kings to the seventeenth chapter of 2 Kings, relates the history of the divided kingdom. Rehoboam's insolence and folly led to a revolt of ten tribes under Jeroboam, who, as a matter of state policy, introduced an idolatrous worship. The evil results were seen in all his successors. The fearless words and deeds of Elijah and his successor, Elisha, were not able to stay the flood of iniquity. The climax of wickedness was reached under Ahab and Jezebel. At length, after 387 years, the kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian monarch Sargon (722 B.C.), who captured Samaria and replaced the deported population by colonists from the east. During all this time the history of the kingdom of Judah is carried along with that of the kingdom of Israel, and the contemporaneous sovereigns are always given. The third part of the books of Kings includes the last eight chapters. It is devoted to an outline history of the kingdom of Judah after its rival of the north had been destroyed. The most notable event is the discovery of the book of the law in the temple during the reign of Josiah, and the thorough-going religious reform which he inaugurated. But in spite of his efforts and the piety of his predecessor Hezekiah, whose life was miraculously lengthened, the Hebrew people as a whole had broken the covenant of Jehovah. By their irreclaimable idolatry and wickedness, they finally forfeited the favor of the Lord, and in 588 B.C.-one hundred and thirty-four years after the destruction of Samaria — Jerusalem fell a prey to the conquering power of Nebuchadnezzar. The Hebrews were carried away into a long captivity; the threatened wrath of Jehovah had fallen upon His people. 1 and 2 Chronicles. The books of Chronicles, together with Ezra and Nehemiah, originally formed a single book. It is noteworthy that the last two verses of the Chronicles are identical with the first two verses of Ezra. The present division of this continuous historical record dates from the Septuagint version, which was made two or three centuries before our era. The traditional view ascribes the authorship to Ezra; but from the list of the descendants of Zerubbabel mentioned in I Chronicles 3: 19-22, the leader of the first body of captives returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, it seems probable that the writer belongs to a later time. Some biblical scholars place the author as late as 330 B.C., a date subsequent to the time when Alexander had started on his conquering career in western Asia. At all events, it is perfectly clear that the book was written after the Babylonian exile; for it contains the proclamation of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Character and Sources. In the Chronicles, as in the other historical writings of the ancient Hebrews, prosperity is represented as a reward of righteousness, and adversity as a punishment of sin. Accordingly, David admonishes Solomon to be faithful to Jehovah: "If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever."1 And when a king 11 Chron, 28: 9. |